


Peter's Eleven Aunts

by WhiteravenGreywolf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: All the women in Peter's life, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drabble Collection, Family Fluff, Multi, Only happiness in this corner, non-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-08-23 13:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20243770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteravenGreywolf/pseuds/WhiteravenGreywolf
Summary: Peter is your typical 8 year old, except that his dad is Iron Man and he has 11 aunts who would kill for him even if he didn't ask them to...





	Peter's Eleven Aunts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AmyOlivier](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyOlivier/gifts).

> Hey guys! The summary sucks because I have no idea how to sell this one! Anyway, this is a birthday gift for my sister! Happy 18th birthday! Maybe you were expecting a Good Omen story this year, but bro "angels don't have genders unless they really want to" and I'm not about to be that guy screaming "we want them to!" So I hope you'll like this story anyway!  
Do not look for a canon in this story, because there is none. Everything in the past 10 years of the MCU has happened all at once and never at all, so don't bother trying to piece a timeline. I wrote each drabble in 30 mins max so they're not the most polished. All you need to remember is, Peter is 8, Tony adopted him, and Aunt May doesn't exist (sorry, I love Aunt May but this story couldn't have happened if she had existed)  
Anyway, as usual, I hope you enjoy, and Happy Birthday Amandine!

Of all the women in Peter's life, Pepper was the closest thing he ever had to a mom. She took care of him when Tony was busy – which happened very often. She gave him everything he wanted, as long as it was reasonable. He asked for a cheeseburger in the middle of the night once, and she gave him a glass of water and sent him back to bed. At first, he was sulking, but eventually, he fell asleep. When he woke up, a massive pile of pancakes was waiting for him in the dining room. Pepper said nothing about the previous night's incident, and when Tony asked about it, she simply said Peter had deserved them.

  
Really, Pepper was how Peter imagined a mom should be. She was nice but stern when necessary, seemingly always happy to spend time with him. But most importantly, she was as fierce as a lioness when it came to defending him.

  
When Tony's ironmaning had sent him once again to the hospital, Peter spent as much time as he could by his father's side. This meant that while he was reading Treasure Island to Tony, who listened with the utmost attention, he wasn't doing his homework. After an entire week of forgetting, Peter was sent to the principal's office, to be picked up by his parents. Of course, Peter knew that wasn't possible since his father was still at the hospital and wouldn't be released for another day or so. If anything, he was expecting Happy to come, apologize profusely to the principal, and pull Peter home sheepishly.

  
Instead, Pepper walked down the elementary school's corridor with confidence. Peter heard the sounds of her heels first before she came to a stop beside him. She sat down and said nothing, and Peter shrunk back in his seat. She remained in silence and maintained her severe expression while they waited. Peter continued to stare at his shoes.

  
Finally, they were called inside the principal's office. Peter walked ahead, head hunched and gaze on the ground. He sat down on one of the chairs silently, sure to be heavily scolded a second time. Pepper shook hands with the principal. To his surprise, however, she didn't sit down. Instead, she said:

  
"Mr. Morita, I'm sure you're aware of Mr. Stark current situation. Peter has been very worried about his father and has spent all of his free time at his father's side, keeping him company. I'm sure you understand how worry can affect a child, especially when it comes to their parents. Now I'll take Peter with me for the rest of the day, and I will personally see it that his homework is done for next week. I suggest we put this week behind us."

  
Peter was stunned to see his principal positively speechless. He had barely nodded in agreement that Pepper was already lightly pushing Peter out of his office without another word. She took the boy's hand and together they walked out of the school. As they passed the entrance door, Peter saw the Stark limo waiting on the curb, Happy still behind the wheel.

  
"How about we stop for some ice cream before going back to see your father?" Pepper suggested.

  
Peter shrugged with hesitation.

  
"I don't think dad would let me get ice cream for being expelled."

  
"You haven't been expelled, you're taking a day off. And besides, I'll make sure he doesn't have anything to say about it."

  
Peter smiled and nodded eagerly. Ice cream did sound good.

* * *

  
  
Peter was confused because the first time he'd met her, he was told her name was Natalie. But then a few months later, she introduced herself as Natasha. So Peter had been calling her Natasha since then. Natasha was Pepper's assistant, at first, but as it turned out, she was a superhero of her own, and Peter found it so much cooler than the fact that she spoke a ton of languages.

  
Much like Pepper, Natasha took to Peter immediately. She would sneak him candies whenever she could, and after she no longer needed a cover she still stopped by from time to time to spend some time with him. And much like Pepper, she grew very protective of him. So when she found out he'd been punched by an idiot named Flash Thompson, she almost went straight to the bully himself to give him a taste of the Black Widow. Peter managed to calm her down, but Natasha insisted it should never happen again. The next thing he knew, Peter was being roped into self-defense classes, dispensed by the greatest spy in the world herself.

  
"Ready? Go on, just imagine it's Flash."

  
Peter raised his arms as Natasha had shown him, but the boxing gloves were just a bit too heavy for him, no matter how 'adapted to children' they were. He hit the punching bag Natasha was holding for him lightly. It didn't even sway on its chains.

  
"That's not bad," Natasha tried to encourage him. "Put more strength into it? We want to break his nose not tickle him."

  
Peter's eyes grew wide in horror.

  
"I don't want to break Flash's nose!"

  
Natasha sighed with a smile.

  
"You're too good for this world, Peter. Come on, just punch the bag with all you have, and I promise we can stop."

  
Peter held out his hands once again and punched the bag as hard as he could. It swayed slightly, and though it wasn't a particularly strong hit, it was better than before. As promised, Natasha helped Peter out of the gloves. Just as she was about to propose a snack break, Tony walked into the training room.

  
"What are you doing here Romanoff? Recruiting SHIELD agents right out of elementary?"

  
Natasha glared at him while Peter chuckled behind them. Then, he shouted:

  
"Look what I can do, dad!"

  
Peter leaned backward until he was standing on his hands and legs, forming a little bridge. Then, he sent his legs over his body, to stand back up. Just as Tony was about to compliment him, Peter continued and cartwheeled on the mat. While Peter was waiting for applause, Tony looked over at Natasha:

  
"Did you teach him that?"

  
Natasha shook her head.

  
"Nope. He just imitated me. He's very agile, I suppose."

  
"I'm agile like a spider!" Peter confirmed enthusiastically.

  
Tony nodded with a smile.

  
"A regular spider boy indeed."

* * *

  
  
Auntie Carol was the first alien Peter ever met, though technically she wasn't really an alien. She just had amazing alien powers. She wasn't on Earth often, because of her prior commitments on the other side of the galaxy, but from time to time she went back to Earth to see her family, and sometimes, she even had time to come see Peter.

  
Everyone already knew Peter's dad was Iron man, and while he didn't like to brag about it, he also knew a lot of superheroes. So when Flash was bothering him, trying to get him to admit that he knew Captain America, only to shout that Peter was a liar, Peter preferred to ignore him as much as possible until it was time to go home. This was one of those days, where Flash had spent half of the day asking Peter repeatedly if he knew Ant-Man – he didn't, but he knew a funny guy named Scott who happened to talk to ants – then the other half of the day shouting for everyone to hear that Peter was lying about knowing Ant-Man. Peter couldn't wait to go home.

  
He passed the entrance door to the school urgently, Ned behind him, blabbering on about a Star Wars video game. His eyes scanned the street in front of the school. The many yellow buses were there, so were many of the parents' cars usually waiting for their kids. However, the Stark limo was nowhere to be seen.

  
Flash walked past Peter, nudging him with his elbow in the ribs painfully.

  
"Ah, ah," he chuckled, "Looks like your 'dad' finally decided he didn't want you anymore!"

  
Before Peter or Ned could tell him off, a bright light passed over the school at top speed. It stopped above them, then landed in front of them. When the lights disappeared and all the children in the facility had stopped blinking painfully, auntie Carol was standing at the bottom of the stairs, a smile on her lips and sunglasses on her nose.

  
"Hey, kid! Long-time no see!"

  
Peter didn't hesitate. He jumped down the stairs and threw himself in Carol's arms, hugging her fiercely.

  
"Auntie Carol! I didn't know you were back!"

  
"Stopped by Louisiana a few days ago, I was on my way to the Avengers tower when I spotted you. Need a lift?"

  
Peter shrugged. He was sure Happy wouldn't be long, he was probably stuck in traffic.

  
"Come on! I'm sure everyone at the tower will be happy to see you!"

  
Finally, Peter nodded. Carol smiled and turned around, kneeling to be on his level.

  
"Hop on!"

  
Peter jumped on her back and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She turned around and Peter looked at his friends over her shoulder. Both Ned and Flash were stunned, while MJ didn't seem to care.

  
"Say goodbye to your friends."

  
Peter waved at Ned, but his best friend was still stunned silent when Carol turned her light show back on, and flew off, her hands holding her precious cargo by the ankles.

* * *

  
  
When Peter first heard of New Asgard, he imagined a massive golden city. When he finally visited New Asgard, he was slightly disappointed. It was just a small fishing town, and it wasn't magical at all. Well, there was something magical in it. A pegasus. Peter knew that there was one hiding somewhere, because it belonged to the only Valkyrie in the village, but he had yet to see it. So every chance he got, he escaped from Happy's supervision and started running from building to building, searching for a place which could hide a pegasus.

  
After much searching, and climbing up a hill, he found what looked like stables, a few feet away from the village, next to a small, solitary stone house. Peter looked down to make sure Happy hadn't caught up with him, and when he was sure he was still alone, he ran up to the stables door. It was an old wooden thing, not even able to close properly anymore. Peter pushed it open very carefully, and slid his head inside. It was empty. He frowned and pushed the door open wider. The ground was covered in hay, but decidedly not enough to hide a pegasus underneath. Either Thor had lied when he told him they had a pegasus, or it was gone.

  
Disappointed, Peter closed the stables door and walked away. Just as he did, a shadow passed over him. He looked up, and his eyes grew wide. It was the pegasus, of a stark, almost blinding white color. And Valkyrie herself was seated on its back, her hair coming undone from its loose braid from the wind.

  
The pegasus turned around and came to land right beside him, shaking its head and stretching one last time its wings before folding them against its sides.

  
"Hey, there kid," Valkyrie greeted him, "Where's your bodyguard?"

  
"I left him so I could see the pegasus," Peter replied.

  
Valkyrie smirked.

  
"Whelp, guess you finally saw it."

  
Peter tentatively approached, then stopped himself.

  
"Can I pet it?" he asked.

  
Valkyrie chuckled.

  
"You can do more than that."

  
She leaned back, leaving enough space in front of her for another rider.

  
"What do you say? Want to give your bodyguard the scare of his life?"

  
Peter laughed and approached the pegasus once again. Valkyrie picked him up by the arm and hefted him in front of her with ease.

  
"Hold on tight,"

  
"I'll be as sticky as a spider," Peter promised.

  
Valkyrie shrugged his comment off and nudged her horse forward. The pegasus flew off, accompanied by Peter's shout of delight.

  
Happy had just made it up the hill when he heard the shout and saw a shadow passing over him, and toward the village. He stopped heaving to look up and saw the small, distinct figure of Peter on the flying horse.

  
"Oh come on!"

* * *

  
  
Not many people had ever been invited to Wakanda. Tony Stark had, and he had brought his adoptive son with him for a week in the most secretive country of the world. And while everything looked cool and new and exciting, nothing was as cool as Princess Shuri's lab. Peter spent most, if not all his trip in the princess' lab, observing Shuri work. She was not only glad to have a distraction and someone she could impress with her amazing inventions, but she used Peter as an assistant of sort.

  
"Try them on," Shuri said, handing a strange pair of shoes to the boy.

  
Peter eyed the shoes suspiciously. He'd tested some of his father's crazy inventions before, he knew exactly how this sort of things could backfire horribly.

  
"What do they do?" he asked as he tentatively took the shoes.

  
"It's a surprise," Shuri replied with a mischievous smile.

  
Peter nodded nervously but put the shoes on anyway. As soon as his feet had slid inside the prototype, they adjusted to his feet's size automatically.

  
"Cool!" Peter said with wide, excited eyes.

  
"And that's not all!"

  
Peter took a few steps, and as he did, he realized that he couldn't hear his footsteps, which he should have been able to hear in the cavernous lab.

  
"So cool! What else do they do?"

  
"That's it! Why? Is it not enough?"

  
Peter shrugged.

  
"I don't know. I thought you could walk on the ceiling with those or something."

  
Shuri seemed to ponder the suggestion for a moment. Then, she declared:

  
"I'll be right back!"

  
A few hours later when Tony came to pick up his son from the lab, he found him walking on the ceiling, his face beat red from the blood rush.

* * *

  
  
Peter was very intimidated by the Dora Milaje. They were like a group only composed of Natashas, but where Natasha was always smiling when she spent time with him, they were like statues, only moving to follow members of the royal family around. And the general of this small army was Okoye.

  
Peter had met Okoye almost as soon as they had landed, as she was always one step behind the King. The bodyguards following Shuri around weren't necessarily the same all the time, but Okoye was always following the King, without fail. In his time of boredom, stuck at the palace with nothing but his Gameboy to occupy him, Peter had an idea. If Okoye was always following the King, who was following her?

  
And so, he set out through the palace, hiding from dark corner to dark corner, holding his breath everyone walked by. He did so until he found the general, standing by a large door with two other Dora Milaje. He kept to the shadows, hiding behind a massive vase, and held his breath. Okoye talked with her subordinates, then went on her way, continuing down the hall. Peter waited until he was sure she was far enough and ran past the door to continue his track, under the curious gaze of the other two women, who watched him go with confusion.

  
Okoye was patrolling through the palace, and Peter followed as silently as he could, with no particular objective in mind. He had no idea when he would call it quits, and absolutely no idea what would happen if he got caught following the King's general. In fact, he would rather not think about it.

  
Okoye passed through an empty corridor, only illuminated by the light coming from the city outside. Peter was still a few feet behind, clumsily hid in a nook of the wall far too small to hide more than his arm. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, as if the light-bulb above them had exploded, before plugging the corridor in the dark once again. Peter was distracted by the flicker of light, and when he looked back, Okoye was gone. Just like a ghost, she seemed to have blinked out of existence, and he couldn't see her anymore.

  
"I don't like being followed, boy, so you better tell me what you're doing here now."

  
Peter screamed and jumped out of his skin as he turned around. Okoye was standing there, glaring at him, a firm grasp on her spear. Peter's heart was frightfully pounding in his chest and ears, while the echo of his scream still carried around the palace corridor.

  
"I was just..." he panted, "Just playing."

  
"You think it's a good idea to follow a highly trained warrior for fun?" she asked in disbelief.

  
Peter managed a shrug.

  
"I was taught by the Black Widow herself in the art of spying!" he claimed.

  
Okoye rolled her eyes.

  
"Obviously she didn't do a good job."

  
After looking around one last time, she started walking down the hallway. After taking a few steps she declared:

  
"Come, I'm sure there are a few things I can teach you that the Black Widow can't."

* * *

  
  
Peter was happy to discover that the ones who called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy were a friendly bunch. While they stayed at the Avengers complex trying to fix their ship with Tony's help, Peter hung around the hangar, looking for any and all reasons to stare at the crashed spaceship and its strange crew.

  
Of all the aliens inside that spaceship, the first two to approach him were Groot and Mantis. Groot was a talking tree, though in the limit that all he knew how to say was 'I am Groot'. He was a bit taller than Peter, though not a fully grown adult yet, but he liked to play video games and Peter was all too happy to introduce him to his own collection. However, Groot's strength and talents were often required to fix the ship, and so most afternoons Peter hung out with Mantis.

  
Mantis was very funny. Peter liked spending time with her. She could make her antennas glow when she touched his hand, and then she would start laughing. She told Peter she liked laughing, and so he started telling her jokes.

  
"Knock Knock!" Peter started.

  
Mantis looked at him in confusion, so Peter explained:

  
"You're supposed to say 'Who's there?'."

  
Mantis smiled and nodded vigorously.

  
"Who's there?"

  
"Candice," Peter replied.

  
Again, Mantis was at a loss of words.

  
"But you're name's Peter."

  
"I know but this is a joke! You have to say Candice who?"

  
"Oh, okay. Candice who?"

  
Peter could barely hold his laughter in while he replied:

  
"Candice door open or am I stuck out here?"

  
He dissolved in laughter, Mantis soon joining him. They were so loud, Nebula peaked from behind the ship to make sure they were fine before she returned to work. Peter, who had barely recovered from his laughter, continued:

  
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" he asked, still brushing tears from his eyes.

  
Mantis, still chuckling, shrugged.

  
"To get to the other side of the road!"

  
Once again, Peter's laugh was infectious, and Mantis, who didn't even know what a chicken was, started laughing again.

  
"How about this one," Peter said after a hiccup, "What's red and goes up and down?"

  
"A spider!" Mantis guessed.

  
Peter frowned.

  
"Spiders' aren't red!"

  
"Then what it is?" Mantis asked excitedly.

  
"A tomato in an elevator!"

  
Once again the two of them started laughing hysterically. As Peter was once again brushing tears out of his eyes, Mantis asked:

  
"What's a tomato?"

* * *

  
  
Peter became friend with Nebula through Mantis. Well, he thought they were friends, but with Nebula, it was hard to tell. She never laughed at any of his jokes, but she had become intrigued when Peter was trying to teach Paper football to Mantis, and so she had taken the place in front of him, as his opponent.

  
"Put your hands like that," he said, showing her the right hand position.

  
She obeyed, and Peter prepared himself to shoot the triangle of paper across the table. After aiming carefully, he flicked it toward Nebula. The young woman tried to catch it, and it bounced off her hand.

  
"No, you have to keep your hands like that," Peter re-explained.

  
"Then how can I win, if I can't stop you from winning?" Nebula asked with annoyance.

  
"You have to be a better thrower than me," Peter replied. "Let's switch, okay? I'll do the goal for this turn, you aim."

  
Beside them, Mantis had picked up the triangle of paper. She handed it to Nebula, who placed it in front of her carefully and aimed. Peter placed his hand like he was supposed to. Nebula took aim, then flicked the triangle across the table. It bounced off the side of Peter's hand, not passing the goal.

  
"Did I do it?" Nebula asked with a hint of hope in her voice.

  
"No," Peter replied with a shake of the head. "We're still zero to zero. Now it's your turn to be the goal again."

  
Nebula huffed but held up her hands anyway. Peter took aim, then he said:

  
"And don't try to catch it this time."

  
Peter flicked the triangle across the table, and it landed passed Nebula's hands.

  
"Yeah! Score! One point for me!"

  
Nebula stood up suddenly, making the feet of her chair squeak.

  
"This game is rigged," she declared. "I will not play any longer."

  
"It's not!" Peter promised. "You just need practice!"

  
Nebula stared at the eight-year-old as if deciphering his body language. Finally, she sat back down, picked up the triangle and took aim.

  
"I will not be bested by a child."

  
Peter had barely the time to place his hands correctly before the paper triangle flew above his fingers and hit him in the chest.

  
"One point for me too!" Nebula declared with satisfaction.

  
Peter picked up the piece of paper and placed it in front of him.

  
"You're so on!"

* * *

  
  
When Peter wasn't playing with the guardians, he watched them work on their ship. That was how he got to meet the rest of the team. Rocket was funny, and Peter really wanted to pet his head, but they had all warned him not to do it, so he hadn't tried yet. Drax was weird, and he didn't seem to understand everything that people were saying. Their Peter was also weird, though not in the same way. He loved music though and thought Footloose was the greatest movie of all time, so Peter decided to introduce him to more music and movies. And then, there was Gamora.

  
Peter had no idea how to approach Gamora at first. She seemed like the only reasonable person in the team, the only one never messing around either. She was completely focused on fixing the ship, even if her knowledge in mechanics was limited. She never laughed, much like Nebula, but unlike Nebula, she never wanted to play paper football either.

  
One day, however, Peter discovered something interesting. Gamora had an interest in music, probably something she had picked up from Starlord. They were all in the hangar fixing their ship, and FRIDAY was blasting Tony's working playlist loudly. Starlord and Drax had gone to fetch something heavy. Peter was seated on a large pile of metal containers when the music changed, and he recognized it immediately:

  
"Oh, I love this song!"

  
He started dancing on his seat as his feet beat the rhythm against the metal boxes. Gamora watched him do with what seemed to be interest. Eventually, she asked:

  
"Are all Peters on this planet interested in music?"

  
Peter chuckled and explained:

  
"Everyone likes music! Hold on."

  
He looked up and shouted:

  
"FRIDAY, can you put Natasha's playlist on?"

  
"Of course."

  
The music changed, from an old school metal song to classical music. Gamora listened with curiosity.

  
"Natasha listens to classical music all the time when she's alone. Bruce too, he likes to listen to classical when he works. Oh! FRIDAY, put Steve's playlist on!"

  
The music changed again, from classical music to old, 1940s songs.

  
"Steve likes to listen to old music cause he doesn't like electric guitar or electronic music. Which is what Wanda listens to. There's music for everybody," Peter concluded.

  
Gamora listened a few more moments to the song blasting in the hangar. Then, she asked:

  
"Can we listen to something else?"

  
Peter smiled and nodded.

  
"Of course!"

* * *

  
  
When Peter first met Wanda, she was not friendly toward him. In fact, she would rather be left alone. So Peter did. He understood that Wanda didn't like his father, though he didn't know why, and he knew she had just lost her brother. She needed time and space, so he gave her both. Then, gradually, she warmed up to him. At first, it wasn't much, just coming to hang out with him and the other Avengers when he came to visit.

  
Vision was the one who helped them become friends. Indeed, Vision was in part a creation of Tony, like a kid, and so he was Peter's younger brother, and Peter took his role of older brother very seriously. Since Wanda was Vision's only friend, the three of them ended up spending quite a bit of time together.

  
It was to Peter's surprise that one evening, Tony announced he and Pepper were going on a date, and Wanda would babysit him. Peter wanted to protest, after all, he was eight, he didn't need a babysitter, and he had FRIDAY, but the prospect of spending time with his friend was enough to keep him shut.

  
He was very excited when Wanda arrived, jumping around the house like a flee. Thankfully he calmed down just enough for Wanda to suggest they play a game of chess. Peter went to fetch his own set and placed it in front of Wanda.

  
"I have never seen chess pieces like these," she said as she picked up the knight and looked at it more closely.

  
"Oh, it's a Star Wars set," Peter replied proudly.

  
Wanda rolled her eyes.

  
"I don't know Star Wars," she replied.

  
Peter gasped in shock.

  
"You don't know Star Wars!"

  
"I know what it is, but I have never seen it," Wanda explained.

  
"We have to watch Star Wars!" Peter shouted as he jumped off the couch to reach for his collections of Star Wars DVDs.

  
"Peter!"

  
Peter froze halfway to the shelves and turned around.

  
"Let's play first, alright?"

  
"But then we'll watch Star Wars?"

  
Wanda shrugged.

  
"Sure, after."

  
Peter returned to his place behind the white side of the board and quickly moved his first pawn.

  
A few hours later when Tony and Pepper came back, Peter was passed out in a corner of the couch, snoring lightly, while Wanda was still watching Return of the Jedi.

* * *

  
  
Of all the people Peter had met through his father's superheroing, Hope was probably the only one who didn't want to spend at least a bit of time with him. In fact, she almost seemed afraid of him, like she had no idea how to speak to him. Scott told him it was because Hope was scared of kids, but Peter couldn't believe it. Kids weren't scary, especially him. So he devised a plan to show Hope that she shouldn't be afraid of him.

  
He chose a day he knew she would be with the Avengers and went there with his bag full of science books.

  
"I have all of these science exercises that I don't understand, I hoped someone could help me."

  
"I'll help you!" Bruce proposed earnestly.

  
Peter froze for a second, then shook his head.

  
"But I thought you had a lot of work, uncle Bruce!"

  
"Oh, no, it's okay, I can just..."

  
Scott, who was very much in on Peter's plan, slid up to Bruce and whispered in his ear what was really going on. Bruce's voice died down.

  
"Oh, no, I guess I do have a lot of work. Sorry kid."

  
He returned in his lab and closed the door. Hope watched the entire interaction with confusion. Scott then intervened:

  
"Hope, why don't you help the kid? You have a Ph.D., don't you?"

  
Hope's eyes darted back and forth between Scott's hopeful eyes and Peter's hopeful eyes.

  
"I don't know Scott... Maybe it's not a good idea..."

  
"Don't tell me you're afraid of a few 3rd-grade science exercises!"

  
"I'm in 4th grade," Peter corrected.

  
"Okay, 4th-grade science exercises then."

  
Before Hope could protest some more, Peter had settled on the couch beside her and pulled out his books and exercises.

  
"We're studying bugs, and I have these questions on ants and how they communicate, but I don't understand..."

  
Hope picked up the exercise sheet from the table before Peter could finish, and read through it quickly. Peter looked over at Scott, giving him a thumbs-up, to which Scott replied with one of his own. Hope put the sheet down and looked at the two of them:

  
"I know exactly what you two are doing," she declared, and Scott's smile faltered. "I'll help you with your exercises, Peter."

  
"Thank you!"

  
A few hours later, when Scott returned to check on them, he found Hope making drawings of anthills on the back of his exercise sheet. He smiled, and let them work.

* * *

  
  
Peter had a lot of aunts who liked to take care of him and spend time with him. Some lived on the other side of the galaxy but still came to say hi from time to time. Others felt more like older sisters, always ready to play with him and have fun. But none of them could ever replace his father. So when Peter returned home, his first stop was always Tony's workshop, where he was sure to find his father.

  
Tony looked up from whatever he was working on and smiled.

  
"Hey, kiddo! How was school?"

  
Peter shrugged and sat down on the nearest thing he could sit on.

  
"It was okay."

  
"Well, give me a minute, alright?"

  
Tony would quickly finish whatever he was doing, then move to the back of the workshop, where Peter would follow him. There, the corpse of an old car lay seemingly forgotten. However, Tony and Peter had spent quite a bit of time trying to bring it back to life, and they were close to succeeding.

  
"Where did we stop last time?" Tony asked as he looked at what was in front of him.

  
"The ignition," Peter replied.

  
Tony looked proudly at his son.

  
"Of course. FRIDAY, why don't you put on Peter's playlist? And tell Pepper we're gonna need celebratory pizza soon."

  
"Of course, boss."

  
The music in the workshop changed to Peter's favorite songs, and Tony opened the hood of the car once again.

  
"I think today's the day we make this motor work."

  
Peter came to stand beside his father and looked into the hood as well.

  
"Not if we don't connect the motor and the pedals though."

  
"Well then what are we waiting for?"


End file.
